Roman looked at him for a long moment.

"Except Nicholas."

Victor's smile thinned.

"Children don't understand these matters."

"No," Roman said. "They don't. That's why adults are supposed to protect them."

A burst of laughter came from the doorway.

Sophie appeared beneath the pergola wearing a red-and-white striped sun hat that was too large for her head. She carried a tray with two paper cups of apple juice.

Rachel hurried behind her.

"Sophie, sweetheart, you can't interrupt Mr. Bellini's meeting."

"I brought him juice."

"I know, but—"

Sophie set a cup on the glass table.

The bottom landed directly on Victor's documents.

A wet ring spread across the top page.

Victor stared at the cup.

Then at Sophie.

Then at Roman.

"Is this how you conduct business now? With children running through the house and spilling drinks on confidential documents?"

Roman looked down at Sophie.

"Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome."

He picked up the cup and took a sip.

Then he turned to Victor.

"This is my home. The child belongs here. And those papers are worthless."

Victor's expression hardened.

"You would destroy a twelve-million-dollar agreement because a little girl spilled juice?"

Roman folded the documents once, then tore them cleanly across the middle.

"I would destroy a hundred-million-dollar agreement if it required me to sell my son's future."

He dropped the pieces into Victor's open case.

"Tell Evelyn that if she wants Nicholas's trust, she'll have to come through the front gate and explain herself in open court."

Victor rose slowly.

"You'll regret this."

"Perhaps."

Roman's voice remained calm.

"But at least I'll know what I chose."

Victor closed his case and walked toward the Mercedes.

Sophie watched him go.

"He was a rude doctor," she announced.

Roman looked down at her.

"Yes, he was."

Rachel covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

For a moment, the patio felt like an ordinary family home.

Then Roman noticed Rachel's expression change as she watched Victor's car disappear down the driveway.

"What is it?" he asked.

She hesitated.

"Nothing."

"Rachel."

She looked at him.

"You're beginning to act like someone who has something to lose."

Roman glanced toward the nursery windows.

"I've always had something to lose."

"Yes," Rachel said. "But now you're finally looking at it."

The words followed him long after she had gone.

Two weeks later, the emergency custody hearing began in Courtroom 3B of the Charleston County Courthouse.

The room smelled of floor wax, old paper, and the faint coffee scent that seemed to linger in every public building. Sunlight filtered through tall windows, illuminating dust in the air above the wooden benches.

Judge Beatrice Vance sat behind the mahogany bench, her gray hair cut in a severe line, her blue eyes moving over the documents before her.

Evelyn Whitmore sat on the left with three senior attorneys.

Roman sat on the right beside Charles Vane.

Rachel and Sophie occupied the first row behind them, with Marco seated at the aisle.

Sophie wore her best yellow dress. Her red plastic stethoscope was tucked into a small cloth bag on her lap.

She had been told to remain quiet.

She had promised.

Judge Vance adjusted her glasses.

"This is an emergency hearing regarding temporary protective custody of Nicholas Bellini, age seven months. The petitioner alleges physical neglect, exposure to dangerous domestic conditions, and parental emotional incapacity."

She looked toward Evelyn's attorney.

"Proceed."

The attorney rose.

"Your Honor, the facts are straightforward. Mr. Bellini is a man whose business activities involve ongoing criminal investigations. His home is secured by armed personnel, his domestic staff changes frequently, and he has repeatedly dismissed licensed pediatric nurses. His child was recently discovered in a state of physical distress, not by a medical professional, but by an unvetted child who should never have been on the property."

Rachel felt her hands tighten around the cloth bag on Sophie's lap.

The attorney continued.

"Mrs. Whitmore is the child's maternal aunt. She offers a stable residence, an established family support system, and a safe environment free from the dangers associated with Mr. Bellini's business."

Evelyn lowered her eyes modestly.

Roman watched her without expression.

Judge Vance turned toward Charles.

"Mr. Vane?"

Charles stood.

"Your Honor, the allegations are misleading. The incident involving Nicholas occurred when Mrs. Whitmore removed him from the nursery without the father's knowledge and placed him in a vehicle in extreme heat. Mr. Bellini intervened immediately upon discovering the situation."

"Do you have witnesses?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Call them."

Charles looked at Rachel.

She felt her stomach drop.

Roman turned slightly toward her. Their eyes met, and she saw the question in his expression.

He was giving her a choice.

She could remain seated. She could protect her job, her daughter, and the fragile security she had built over four weeks in the Bellini household.

Or she could stand up and tell the truth.

Rachel thought of her own custody hearing four years earlier.

She remembered sitting in a courtroom much like this one while her ex-husband's attorney explained that a woman with three jobs and a depleted bank account could not possibly provide a stable home.

Nobody had asked how many nights she had stayed awake with Sophie.

Nobody had asked whether she had ever skipped a meal to make sure her daughter had enough.

Nobody had asked how hard she had fought to keep a roof over their heads.

They had examined the numbers.

They had ignored the life.

Rachel stood.

"I was present, Your Honor."

Judge Vance looked toward her.

"State your name."

"Rachel Miller."

"Approach the bench, Mrs. Miller."

Rachel walked through the wooden gate and stopped where the clerk directed her.

She could feel every eye in the courtroom.

"How long have you worked for Mr. Bellini?"

"Four weeks."

"And did you bring your daughter onto the estate without permission?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

A small murmur moved through the courtroom.

Rachel continued before anyone could interrupt.

"The daycare center was closed because the air-conditioning had failed. I couldn't afford to miss work, and I had no other childcare available. I made a mistake by bringing Sophie with me, and I accept responsibility for that."

Evelyn's attorney rose.

"Then you agree that your presence on the property was unauthorized?"

"Yes."

"And your daughter was unsupervised?"

"For part of the afternoon, yes."

"So the child was allowed to wander through a dangerous environment—"

"She heard a baby crying."

Rachel's voice was quiet, but the attorney stopped.

She looked directly at the judge.

"My daughter heard Nicholas crying through the house vent. She went upstairs because she thought he needed help. When she found him, she stayed with him. Later, she heard him crying again from the car."

Evelyn stood abruptly.

"This is absurd. The child has no medical training. She couldn't possibly know what she heard."

Judge Vance struck the gavel.

"Mrs. Whitmore, sit down."

Evelyn lowered herself into her chair, her face flushed.

Rachel continued.

"I saw Mrs. Whitmore's car near the east laundry wall. I saw her driver struggling with the infant carrier. The car engine was off. The windows were closed. Nicholas was inside, and he was visibly distressed."

"Did you see Mr. Bellini remove him?"